


The Christmas Dare

by AnaiyaRhayne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:35:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28107912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnaiyaRhayne/pseuds/AnaiyaRhayne
Summary: She had hidden her crush for years, but when she stormed away from a game of Truth or Dare the group was playing on Christmas Eve, she never thought her crush would come looking for her.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Percy Weasley
Comments: 7
Kudos: 29
Collections: Hermione’s Nook Kissmas





	The Christmas Dare

The freshly fallen snow glistened like diamonds when lit by the soft fairy lights on the tree in front of the kitchen window. Hermione Granger had braved the cold and taken refuge in the barn after playing a rather revealing game of truth and dare with the Weasley children (minus Percy, of course), Harry Potter, Neville Longbottom, Lavender Brown Weasley, and Luna Lovegood-Longbottom. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the game, she actually did as it reminded her of the times that she and the others could just relax and forget about the impending war for a bit while in school. It was just...while she didn't mind playing, she abhorred being asked to do or answer dares that would reveal things that she’d rather keep hidden. And what she had just been dared to do would have revealed more than she was comfortable sharing. 

She was grateful that she would only be staying at the Burrow for another night before starting her new job as the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. Being able to shape the minds of new and current students filled her with warmth and made her smile brighter than almost anything else except for her books. Well, and the one secret that she would never share with anyone else if she could help it. She snorted thinking back on everyone’s assumption that she and Ron would be getting together, until Ron had stood up in the middle of dinner a few weeks after the final battle and told that household that he and Lavender had been married since the day after Lavender had turned sixteen. 

Not that she had wanted to be with him to begin with. No, there was someone else that she had been crushing on for years, and it made her smirk that no one had ever guessed it. True, they had come close to guessing when they had joked about her crushing on a Weasley, and they had named every Weasley brother to see her reaction - except for the brother that she actually wanted. Their reasoning for not guessing him was because they thought he was too bookish, too prudish, and too stuck up to be with her. What they didn’t see, though, was that while he was bookish, he used the knowledge he gained to help them through the war in very cunning ways. What they didn’t see, though, was that while he was prudish, he treated the one girl he did date at school like a queen. He was always considerate of her, always putting her first, always asking her opinion on something, and then when they broke up, he never talked behind her back disrespectfully. What they didn’t see, though, was though they thought he was too stuck up, he was busy protecting them by learning everything that he could and using that knowledge in their favor. They also didn’t see, because they refused to really spend any time with him, that he was warm, accepting, and had a sense of humor to match the twins. 

She laughed to herself remembering the first time she had caught him in a prank war with the twins, even though Fred and George thought they were being pranked by the other. She shook her head when he looked up and realized he was caught. A finger to his lips to silently tell her to be quiet was all that it took for her school girl crush to morph into something...more. And when Ginny dared her tonight to reveal who her crush was, and absolutely refused to take no for an answer, she knew she had to get out of the room before accidentally blowing it up. 

Even though she had disillusioned herself, a sound at the door of the barn interrupted her thoughts and made her freeze. She was glad she had also remembered to cast a silencing charm on herself so that if someone did follow her, they wouldn’t know that she was here. She was also glad that she was sitting down, as standing for a long time could have been uncomfortable. She let herself relax, though, when she heard a voice calling her name.

“Hermione, are you still in here?” Percy asked as he looked around, disappointment filling him when he didn’t see her. 

Even though he hadn’t been playing the game, he had remained in the kitchen in order to hear everything that was going on in the living room and play peacemaker if it was needed. He cringed when he heard what his sister dared Hermione, especially knowing that Hermione was a private person, much like he was. He watched as Hermione tried multiple times to tell Ginny no, then watched in concern as she stormed off. 

**_*Flashback_ ** *****

_ “Why do you think she left like that?” he heard Harry ask. _

_ “The only reason why she would have left like that was if she was embarrassed by who her crush was,” Ginny decided, shrugging her shoulders.  _

_ “Or she’s a private person and she doesn’t want everyone to know by the end of the day,” Neville pointed out. “You know secrets have a way of coming out if shared with a group as large as this one.” _

_ “True,” Ron mused. He had been the topic of many secrets and rumors that had flown at Hogwarts, so he appreciated any privacy he could get. “Someone needs to go get her and have her come back so we can apologize.” _

_ “I’ll go find her,” Percy said, putting his book down and standing. “I have a feeling that if any of you were to go, she may hex you.” _

_ “You’re right about that,” Harry chuckled. “Remember the canaries, Ron?” _

_ “Oh gods, how could I forget?” Ron shuddered. “ I really don’t want to go through that again. Thanks, Perce.” _

**_*End Flashback*_ **

“I’m here,” she quietly replied in relief, ending only the silencing charm. She stayed invisible, though, because she didn’t want to show him just how much she was blushing. 

“Why are you still invisible?” Percy asked, concerned for her. “It’s only me.”

“I...I know,” Hermione said hesitantly, not wanting to say too much because she didn’t want her voice to waver. “And I...I’m fine, really. You don’t have to worry about me, Percy.” She took a deep breath in an attempt to steady her voice. “Why are you out here? Why not one of them?”   
  
“Something to do with that no one wanted canaries sent after them,” Percy replied, shrugging his shoulders. 

“Oh gods, I forgot about the canaries,” she giggled. She saw the look on his face and gave him a small explanation. “Ron was being a prat one day in sixth year and I conjured, then sicced canaries on him. He learned quickly after that, as did everyone else.”

“I see,” Percy smiled softly. “And with the way my sister was going on, I’m going to assume that canaries would have been sent after her?”

“Probably, if I had been in control,” Hermione admitted. “I wasn’t, though, and I needed to get out of there before something happened.”

“She dared you to reveal who your crush was back in school,” Percy pointed out. “Nothing more than that. Why the reaction?”   
  
  


“I’ve been teased since primary school for one reason or another,” Hermione replied quietly, her cheeks going pink again. “When I got to Hogwarts, I thought it would be different because I was around people who were like me.” She let out a huff. “How wrong was I? I got picked on for a lot, but especially for being a bookworm. I knew once I actually started noticing boys and started forming crushes on some of them, that things would be no different, and I was right...they weren’t.” 

She was glad she was still invisible with what she was about to admit, though she turned away from Percy because she didn’t want to see the look of pity that was sure to be on his face.

“When I developed my last crush, I kept it to myself, because I knew I would be teased for who they were,” she explained. “And I knew that they, too, would be teased, all because a frizzy haired bookworm more worried about her studies had a crush on him. I didn’t want that, so I kept it to myself and never told them, or anyone else.” She shook her head sadly. The next part would be the hardest to say, so she cast a wordless silencing charm on her feet and legs so that she could disappear afterwards. Her voice had dropped down to a whisper by this point and because she had turned away, she hadn’t seen Percy move closer to the direction of her voice so that he could hear her. He was close enough to her that he heard the next words come from her lips, though he was positive she had only meant them for herself because of how quietly she had spoken.

“I know you don’t like me like that anyway.”

“You’re wrong, Hermione,” he whispered, hoping that she would hear him. His hope was confirmed when he heard her gasp. He smiled softly, though he wished that he could see her so that he could hug her. Then an idea occurred to him. 

“Truth or dare, Hermione?” he asked mischievously.

“Truth,” she whispered, though it sounded like she was in shock.

“When did your crush first develop?” he asked. 

“Fourth year, when you were there for the tournament,” she replied softly. She smiled when she realized what he was doing. “Truth or dare, Percy?”

“Truth,” he replied quietly.

“Same question,” she smirked. “When did your crush first develop?” 

“I realized it after the incident after the world cup, when we couldn’t find you,” Percy admitted, blushing. “When I sat down and thought about it later, I realized that I was a lot more worried than I should have been if I was simply your friend. Just before you went back to school was when I finally admitted to myself that I wanted more.” He paused before continuing. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” she replied, though she sounded unsure of herself.

“I dare you...to remove the disillusion spell so that I can see you,” he said quietly. He hoped that he wasn’t pushing too far, and was rewarded seconds later when Hermione came into view, though she was still facing away.

“Truth or dare,” she whispered, though her voice sounded slightly strained. 

“Dare,” he reciprocated. 

“I dare you...to hug me...from behind,” she whispered, as if she was unsure of the words that came from her. She sighed in relief when she felt his arms gently wrap around her and felt his chin in the crux between her neck and shoulder. 

“Truth or dare, Hermione,” he breathed in her ear.

“Dare,” she whispered, as she leaned back into his chest. 

“I dare you...to turn around and look at me,” he replied quietly. He felt her freeze and wasn’t sure if she would actually do it. After a few tense moments, he breathed a sigh of relief when she turned in his arms, though she kept her head down and her eyes closed at first. When she finally lifted her head and opened her eyes, he saw a fire in them that he hadn’t seen before. 

“Truth or dare, Percy?” she asked lightly, a small smile lighting her face.

“Dare,” he swallowed hard, not knowing what she was going to ask. 

“I dare you...to...kiss me,” she said slowly, then held her breath to see what his reaction would be. 

“Gladly,” he murmured, then leaned down to gently touch her lips with his own. He pulled back after just a few moments to gauge her reaction before kissing her again. He heard her whine when he ran his tongue against her lips and deepened the kiss when he was rewarded entry. He kept his hands firmly on the small of her back as her arms snaked up to wrap around his neck. He groaned in satisfaction when he felt her relax against him. After a few minutes, they started slowly pulling apart. Percy kissed her lightly once, then twice more before resting his forehead against hers. 

“That was some kiss,” a voice full of mirth startled them out of thor thoughts.

“Ginny…” Hermione warned, trying to look at her friend menacingly, but failing due to the smile on her face. 

“Happy Christmas, Hermione,” Ginny said cheekily. “I figured this would be the best present you could receive.”

“But how did you know?” Hermione asked, confused. 

“Oh please, Hermione,” Ginny giggled, as she crossed her arms in front of herself. “You may not have actually said anything, but the looks you were constantly giving him said everything. Not to mention the journal that you kept and tried to hide.” 

“Ginevra Weasley! You read my journal?!” Hermione shouted. 

“Yes, for your own good,” Ginny insisted. “I knew that neither of you would ever make a move on the other, so the rest of us set this up in hopes of finally getting you two together. So again I say: Happy Christmas.” She grinned, before turning to leave the barn. She paused a moment, then turned back. “Hermione, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Hermione sighed, deciding to let Ginny have one last one for the night.

“I dare you to kiss Percy like that again,” Ginny smirked as she left the barn.

“Gladly,” Hermione parroted Percy’s words from earlier, then reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Happy Christmas, Percy.”

“Happy Christmas, Hermione,” he smiled back, then leaned down and captured her lips again.


End file.
